In Re: Dane S. Field v. Bank of America, N.A.

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Decided: July 17, 2024
• Docket: 22-16291
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS JUL 17 2024 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

In re: ROLANDO MANGSAT TIRSO; No. 22-16291 KAMEHALYN SANTOS TIRSO, D.C. No. Debtors. 1:22-cv-00075-JMS-WRP ______________________________

DANE S. FIELD, Chapter 7 Trustee, MEMORANDUM*

Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.

BANK OF AMERICA, NA,

Defendant-Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Hawai‘i J. Michael Seabright, District Judge, Presiding

Submitted June 11, 2024** Submission Vacated and Deferred June 11, 2024 Resubmitted July 15, 2024 Honolulu, Hawai‘i

* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). Before: CALLAHAN and H.A. THOMAS, Circuit Judges.***

Dane S. Field, the bankruptcy trustee in a Chapter 7 proceeding for

Kamehalyn Santos Tirso and Rolando Mangsat Tirso, appeals a summary

judgment in favor of Bank of America, North America (BANA) in an adversary

proceeding. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 158(d) and 1291. We review

de novo a district court’s grant of summary judgment on appeal from a bankruptcy

court. Ditto v. McCurdy, 510 F.3d 1070, 1075 (9th Cir. 2007). We affirm.

We apply the Erie doctrine when sitting in bankruptcy jurisdiction involving

state-law claims, see In re Larry’s Apartments, L.L.C., 249 F.3d 832, 837–38 (9th

Cir. 2001), and are “bound by decisions of the state’s highest court” on matters of

substantive law, PSM Holding Corp. v. Nat’l Farm Fin. Corp., 884 F.3d 812, 820

(9th Cir. 2018), including the calculation of damages for improper foreclosure, see

In re Kekauoha-Alisa, 674 F.3d 1083, 1092 (9th Cir. 2012). Under Hawai‘i

Supreme Court precedent, the district court and bankruptcy court correctly

determined that the Tirsos failed to show damages stemming from BANA’s

foreclosure on their property. Llanes v. Bank of Am., N.A., No. SCAP-XX-XXXXXXX,

2024 WL 3064621, at *8–11 (Haw. June 20, 2024); see also Wong v. Ass’n of

Apartment Owners of Harbor Square, 545 P.3d 547, 554 (Haw. 2024).

*** This case was decided by quorum of the panel. See 28 U.S.C. § 46(d); Ninth Circuit General Order 3.2(h).

2 AFFIRMED.